Submarine scouting apparatus.



F.v G. GRANTHAM. SBMAHINE SCOUTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILEDA OCT. 4'. |918'.

Patented Dec.. 16, 1919.

UM fw WITNESS.'

F. e. GRANTHAM.

SUBMARINE SCOUTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED CT. 4. 1918.

Jun: NUI

Irl.

NVENTOR.

WITNESS:

F. G. GRANTHAM, suBM/RINE scroum APPARMUS.

APPLlcATloN man ocr. a. ma.

Patentedv Dec. 16, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

IN1/EN' TOR. Y

WITNESS.

- tain new and useful Improvements in Sub.

the line 3-3 of Fig. 1'.;

FREDERICK a. GRANTHAM, or KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

SIIBMARINE scoUTIivG APPARATUS',

speeestion of tenement. Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

Application filed October 4, 1918. Serial No. 256,895.

THAM, a citizen of the United States, resid-- l ing at KansasCity, in the county'of ackson, State of Missouri, have invented cermarine `Scouting Apparatus', ofwhich the following is a full andexact specification.

The presentinvention relates to 'submarrine apparatus, and one ofthe obJectsin- View ist@ provide an improved submarine vessel, ofwhat may be termedthe one-man atype,Jadaygited--or submarine scouting p urposes. To 'this end I have devised'a vessel of suitable proportions, and with proper Vballast construction, and having provision for propelling and guiding the vessel by a singleperson operating mechanism arranged within the vessel..

in which the air Supply. Within the vessel' may be effectively controlledand-including an air reservoir and pump device adapted to be operated by means of the connections to the propeller drive.

' "A further object 1s to provide an apparatus of the character described in which provision ismade for releasing the ballast in an emergency, and in ivhich' the ballast-carry- "ing section Ais so arranged as to move, when released, in a manner causing the vessel to'.

assume a position for bringing the head end of the vessely to' the ivater surface. l v Another ob]ect is" to devise an Improved scouting type of vessel in lwhich the con-v struction is such as to permit the operator or pilot to have full control of all tlie mec-lianis'ni necessary for 4propelling and guidii'igI L the` vessel as ivell as vfor'regulating the air circulation, andat thesame timeenablehim to make all desired observations-for scouting purposes.

vFurther obiects ivill 'appear in tliegcourse.

of the detail description.;

T he invention ivillnoiv loev described ivith reference to the accompanying drawingsillustrating one form .of 'construction ,which has been devised for embodying the pro`4 posed improvements, after which the novel features therein ivill be fset fort-hv and defined in the appended claims.

Figure lisp. #v rtical; longitudinal secs- It is-also sought to provide a construction tional View, showing a submarine apparatus" constructed in accordance With the present` invention;-

Fig. 2 is a .horizontal longitudinali-:Iseotional View', takenon the line 2-2 of F ig. `l ;v -F ig. 3 is a transverse section, take-n' on Fig. t is al side elevation, shownon a reduced scale; Y i

Fig.` 5 is a' fragmentary" sectional view,

,illustrating one of the flexible fin structures Referring to the said drawings in fie-e111,

these illustrate -the apparatus -as comprising a vessel which may be constructed ofany suitable lightmaterial (such as aluminum),

and providing a'inain Water-tight compartment l10, surrounded at the top "and Sides by a compressed-air compartment-or reservoir 1 2 (see Fig.'3), Within which is located 'a flexible bag lil' constituting a.'A foul-air compartment provided with a vent 16 com niu'nicating with the exterior of the vessel and controlled by a .valve 18. rlhe'gelieralv form of the vessel is illustrated as approximately simulating the outlinesof a fish,

.and at one end is provided with a tailrudder 20 of tlie"'sliape shown' and provided hinges 22y and meshing with a. gear 2 6ona ivith hinge-connections Q2 for affording Asaid A v.rudder lateral pivotal movement. The rudshaft 28 having a flexible ioper-atingfconiiection '30 Which is ledforward toward the opposite or Jfront' end ofthe vesseliiito convenient position fori: operation `.by the pilot when loccupying alreclining position upon alongitudinally extending cushion 3 2,

as illust-rated in Fig.. 1. 'Ifhe operatingcon- 4vnec-tion 30 is' provided with a hand vWheel 34 journaled 'in a bracket "35 alongside the cushion 32.

Operating Within the rudder 20.i'sI- a pro-v -v peller 36V carried by the outer end of a shaft 38, the inner .end oiwhich is supported within a 'bearing bracket 40 and keyedto a sliding clutchfelernent 42 (see Figs. 2 and adapted tob fhifted by a 'lever 44 mounted said bracket and connected by a rod 161:0 a lever 18 which is ulcrunied in a bracket 50 located toward the front of the cushion 32. By this means the pilot may readily shift the clutch element'12 eitherl into or out of engagement with a bevel. gear 52 carried by a sleeve 51 (see 6) mounted on said shaft- 238 within the bracket 10. The gear 52 meshes with a gear wheel 56 secured to a shaft-5S also journaled in thev frame of the bearing bracket10 and carrying a' pair of cranks 60 having the .pedals 62 suitably positioned for operation of the feet ofzthe pilot. Q

Means is also provided for driving the- 101 and having la crank 86v for operating a rod ..88 leading to a ump 90 of any suitable type for regulating the air supply as hereinafter evplained.v One end of.. this pump is provided with a pipe 92 which is open at one end to the interior of the. compartment 10 (see Figs. 2 and 7) and 1s also connected by means of a branch pipe 91 and flexible'tubewith a float 96 which provvidesan air inlet to said tube ,andpipef- -aguard 98 :being carried by the `float tov protect the inlet'opening from thej splash of Waves. The other 'end of the pump 90 is connected by a pipe 100 with the reservoir 12, anda branch pipe 102 lea-ds to the foulair compartment formed by the bag 11. The several pipes are provided with' the `valves 101, and are furthermore connected by the'cross-pipes 106 at points controlled by suitable two-'wayvalves 108,-the arrangement of` pipes and valves being such that by the opening and closing of the proper valves an air flow may be caused to take` place down through .Y the pipe 91 and up through the pipe 102, or in either direction through the pipes 92 and 100 at the left of the valves 108, as will bereadily un-v lder-stood, 'by inspection of.Fig.7.

At the opposite sides of the vessel is mounted' a pair of blades 110 for operation in the rising or diving movements of the apparatus.

. spindle 112 journaled in a stuingbox Y111,

the inner ends of the spindles being connected by a yoke 116, whereby the blades 1-10 may be moved in unison about a com.- mon axis. One end of the yoke 1161s extended to form av spring-like handle 118 for quiring it.

Each blade 110 is carried by a flexible material opening into the compartment 10, the outer or closed end of each sleeve being glove-shaped and extending tor a short distancefree of the blade as shown in Fig, 5. The purpose of this construction is to permit tlieuse of the pilots arms 'in lconjunction with-said fin members as an auxiliary propelling and guiding means under certain conditions, the arms being inserted into the sleeves as indicated in Fig. 1. It will also be noted that the outer or closed ends 0f the sleeves are for some distance disconnected from the blades 121 for the purpose of forming glove-shaped hand portions adaptedto permit the free use of the hands of the pilot under conditions re- Beneatli the compartment 10 is carried a ballast section` 12S which is adapted' to carry a load. of suitable material such as sand 130, to serve as ballast for the vessel.

The section 128 is hinged -at 132 adjacent the rear end of the vessel, and is releasably secured at the opposite end by means of a spring latch 131, adapted to be operated from within (see Fig. l). A. screw plug 136 is provided (see Fig. 1) whereby a part of the material 130 may be allowed to flow out, when desired, to lighten the load, the plug 136 being manipulated through the outer or closed end ot' the sleeve 126; or, the entire ballast may be discharged, in an emergency,` by releasing the catch 131.

The frontend of the vessel lcomprises a head sect-ion 110 adapted to be removably secured in place b v means of a setof bolts 112, with the interior of said section in conimunication with the compartment 10 so as tel accomi'nodate the head of the pilot.- The head section -is provided with observation windows 111 for viewing upward or downward, and between said windows may be mounted any vsuitable form of searchlight 116, pointing straight ahead. At opposite sides of the section 110 may also be provided a pail' of membranes 118 for facilitatmgthe transnnssion of sound, if desired.- A trap door 150 1s provided directly 'overhead. being hinged at 15,2 and held closed by a latch 151. A strong spring 156 is mounted in position to throw 'said door Wide open' when the latch 151 is operated.

. In the operation of the apparatus, the pilot. occupies a reclining position as represented in F ig. 1 in which position he may operate any or all of the' parts necessary for' shifting the' blades about. their axes. szfidhandle being-provided with a tooth 1201er.

propelling andgguiding the' vessel, including the cranks 6U and 61, the handwheel iso' ' the several valves, as well as the lin members 124. The foot power and hand power driving connections lto the propeller may Abe operated either simultaneously or alternately, and the arrangement is such that the combined operation enables the pilot to exert a more effective force tha-n would be otherwise possible in view of his reclining position. The operation of the cranks 60 at all times actuates the pump 90, and by. shifting the lever 48 to the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 for engaging the clutch element42 with the gear 52, the operationl of' said cranks 60 also drives the propeller; butif it is desiredto drive-the propeller. by operation of the cranks 64 alone or to operate the pump by 4means of the cranks 60 alone the lever 48 may be thrown forward into its opposite position for unclutching said gear 52. v pump is utilized for maintaining the required air-pressure within the reservoir 12, and, by proper setting of the valves 104 and 108, may be used for driving the foul Aair from the compartment 10 to the bag 14, from which any excess pressure may escape by way o'f the vent 16. On,sinking to, lower depths, beyond .the range of the length of tubing 95, this latter maybe drawn in, the float being drawn up against the side of the vessel (see Fig. 4). and then air is admitted 'from the reservoir 12 into the compartment 10 as required. The provision of the flexible sleeves having the blades 124 affords an effective and conveniently-operated means for exercising an auxiliary or secondary control over the movements of the vessel. The windows 144 enable the pilot to make o servations in all directions ahead of the vessel, and the lamp 146 may be brought into -use whenever needed. By manipulating the plug 136 the weight of the ballast load may be diminished, and in emergency, rendering it advisable to rise to the surface, the entire ballast maybe discharged by simply releasing the catch 134, whereupon the section 128 immediately swings'downward on its hinges in Fig. 4); this allows the sand to escape v13?. (inthe direction of the curved arrow from the section 128, and on the v essels rising to the surface the open pos1t1on of the ballast section causes the main body of the vessel to assume an upwardly tilted position, with the result that the nose or head section will b e projected out of, the water.

'Under such circumstances the pilot may take a survey in all directions at the water The operation 'of the level, and the door 150 may be safely opened, being above the water surface, allowing fresh air to be admitted, and also allowing the pilot to emerge from the vessel when circumstances permit.

It-will thus be apparent that an ellicientV fall within the scope of the appended claims. f

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters- Patent, is: y

1. A submarine apparat-us comprising a vessel having a water-tight compartment, and a ballast section hinged to the rear or tail-end of said vessel and releasably secured to the other end of said vessel, whereby on releasing said section the remainder of the vessel will be caused to swing into more or less upwardly-inclined position.

2. A one-man submarine'apparatus comprising a vessel formed in sections including afinain body portionand a head portion removably connected to said body portion, said sections communicating interiorly and cooperating to form a single water-tight compartment adapted to accommodate the body of the pilot in said body portion with the head of said pilot extending into said head portion of 'the vessel.

'3. A submarine apparatus comprising a vessel having a water-tight compartment, and al pair of fin members arranged at the opposite sides of said vessel, each of said fin members comprising a stiff blade calvinto communication wit-h the interior of said compartment, the outer ends of said sleeves beingl disconnected from said blades to form hand portions permitting free use of the hands of the pilot.

In witness whereof I hereto affix my signature. Y

FREDERICK G. GRANTHAM. 

